For budding politics graduates, a job on Capitol Hill or in the hallowed halls of the White House might be a dream come true, but a new Instagram account is revealing the nightmare work conditions American political staffers can face.
Dear White Staffers has begun to lift the lid on what's long been an open secret in DC: junior staff are overworked, underpaid and undervalued.
"Every political science student probably dreams of working here," one 20-something staffer, Ashley (not her real name), told the ABC.
Dear White Staffers began as a place where people posted memes and called out a lack of diversity on Capitol Hill, but in recent weeks the anonymously run account has morphed into a forum for grievances with working life on the Hill, quickly becoming the talk of the town.
Contributors have called out all manner of alleged exploitative and abusive behaviour.
They report lowly paid staffers have been expected to use their own vehicles to drive members of Congress grocery shopping, or buy them multiple super-sized coffees on their own dime.
There are accounts of the Congressman who calls staff 'babe', and the wife of another member who sits in on job interviews and contributes to a volatile and abusive working environment.
The ABC is not naming any of the members of Congress singled out as the stories are posted anonymously and cannot be verified or corroborated.
Some buck the trend and post in glowing terms of bosses who are supportive and respectful, but the majority paint a picture of a toxic, exploitative and racist culture.
One woman told Dear White Staffers she lasted two days as an intern on the Hill, alleging the communications director "chewed me out in front of the entire office because he didn't like the way I pronounced [the Congresswoman's] name".
"[He] made fun of my accent. I am Latina. Verbal abuse was rampant."
Ashley says while she takes some of the accounts "with a grain of salt" because they are anonymous, many of them ring true.
She says she feels supported and valued in the position she works in now, but describes her previous office as "unhealthy".
"You realise over time this is abnormal," Ashley said.
She was expected to work 12-hour days and often on weekends, for a salary equivalent to $57,000.
"It was relentless in the pursuit of positive coverage for the member — wins for the member — in a way that didn't take staff capacity into account," she said.
Ashley said she often thought of quitting, even though she didn't have another job to go to.
"I was just so tired," she said.
Once she asked a supervisor if she could have "just one thing taken off my plate". The answer was no.
"My supervisor told me I had to earn my stripes," she said.
Congressional staff are unionising, ready to tackle toxic workplace culture
Amid the flood of complaints, Dear White Staffers is evolving, with more contributors now sharing information about what salary certain positions should attract and how to organise to lobby for better conditions.
Enter the newly created Congressional Progressive Staff Association, which last month published a survey of more than 500 Congressional staff, reporting that half of those who were not managers had struggled to make ends meet.
About one in four of non-management staff said they didn't have the equivalent of one month's rent in the bank in the case of an emergency.
Asked if they felt there was a "toxic" work environment in Congress, 86 per cent of non-management staff said yes, as well as 80 per cent of staff in management positions.
Things moved quickly and this month the Congressional Workers Union came into being after an endorsement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
A few days later, Joe Biden's spokeswoman indicated the President supported the drive, and soon Democratic Congressman Andy Levin was introducing a resolution to allow Congressional staffers to form a union and engage in collective bargaining.
Some Republican politicians have already signalled their opposition and it's not clear what the path forward will be for the invigorated workers on Capitol Hill, but their push for better conditions is part of what appears to be a broader uprising.
Corporate leaders flying to the moon, employees feel resentful
Meanwhile, in what has been dubbed the "Great Resignation", employees stretched to the limit during the pandemic have been reassessing their nine-to-five jobs and quitting in record numbers.
Others are pushing for change, with Starbucks and Amazon workers leading the fight to form unions and lobby for better conditions.
"Workers everywhere are frustrated," Cornell University's Kate Bronfenbrenner said.
Professor Bronfenbrenner, a senior lecturer at the School of Industrial Labor Relations, traces the origins of the current discontent back to the period following the 2007-08 global financial crisis.
Workers were asked to make concessions to keep their jobs, but watched as the corporations went on to again make huge profits.
The pandemic was "the last straw", Professor Bronfenbrenner said, with people cooped up working from home, or expected to come into work and "risk their lives" without access to vaccines or personal protective equipment.
"Meanwhile, we see the corporate leaders are going to the moon," she said.
For those outside the union push, many have changed jobs to find workplaces with better conditions, or negotiated better conditions in their current roles — what commentators argue is more of a Great Renegotiation or Great Upgrade.
"Some people are changing jobs, and some people are saying, 'I can't move. I don't have that option,'" Professor Bronfenbrenner said.
"But… if I'm stuck here, I'm going to change my situation."
January 6 insurrection a tipping point for many young staffers
Professor Bronfenbrenner says the discontent on Capitol Hill is "a whole new level", in part because of the "extreme polarisation represented by January 6".
Young staffers were in the thick of the attack on the Capitol, many hiding under desks for hours as an angry mob rampaged through the building.
"The staffers feel like it's not a safe workplace," Professor Bronfenbrenner said.
The added pressure of skyrocketing inflation means a young, badly paid workforce is working for a majority older population and feeling that they can't live on their salaries.
"That breeds not only discontent, but stress," she added.
Congressional staffer Ashley says if a Capitol Hill union ever does come into being, she'll sign up. But for now, "there's no HR — really no recourse if something is amiss".
"There's really nowhere for you to go," she said.
"I think something's gotta give."
